Nearly two-thirds of U.S. consumers surveyed in a new report said they feel like brands have done little to nothing to follow through on the anti-racism pledges they made last summer. Big name brands like Snapchat, adidas, Yelp, and PepsiCo made promises to improve their diversity and inclusion efforts following protests due to the murder of George Floyd. A year later and 34 percent of consumers said brands had done little to tackle their internal racial problems, while 27 percent of consumers believe they have done even less than that. “ Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 were, by volume, the largest demonstrations in American history. As a result, they have had a serious lasting effect on both the national conversation around race, as well as the responsibility of businesses to do their part in tackling racism,” GWI Trends Analyst Doug Gorman said in a press release. “Now more than ever, consumers are actually holding brands accountable for their Corporate Social Responsibility...

Mary Barra, the CEO of General Motors (GM), is under fire after the leaders of several Black-owned media companies accused her of racism for refusing to meet with them. The leaders blasted Barra in a full page advertisement in the Detroit Free Press on Sunday, the outlet reported, which included an open letter that said she has refused to meet with them “consistently, over time and after multiple requests.” The ad was signed by the heads of seven Black-owned media companies, including Ice Cube, founder of Cubevision; Byron Allen, head of Allen Media Group; and former NBA player Ulysses Bridgeman, owner of Ebony and Jet magazines. The leaders originally demanded an hour-long Zoom meeting with Barra and GM executives in the ad and asked that GM allocate at least 5 percent of its ad budget to Black-owned media companies. The group said they would like to see Barra’s resignation if these demands weren’t met. “You stand on stage, after the death of George Floyd, saying, ‘Black Lives...

Back in June, Netflix announced it was committing $100 million to build up Black-led financial institutions. Now the streaming giant is switching gears to invest in ending racism in housing. Real Estate Weekly reports that Netflix is pledging $25 million to Enterprise Community Partners — the nonprofit founded by developer James Wilson Rouse in the 80s to build and finance affordable homes — and its Equitable Path Forward program to support its national effort to combat systemic racism in the housing industry. According to Enterprise Community Partners, the multi-pronged initiative plans to establish an equitable path forward for BIPOC and other historically marginalized housing providers by “filling the gaping capital gap from decades of systemic racism; strengthening providers through advisory services and other support; and creating new career pathways to diversify leadership in real estate.” “Our vision is nothing short of dismantling the legacy of racism in housing,” said...

Ice cream company — Ben & Jerry’s — has been extremely vocal in regards to calling out racism and violence in America during the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. After issuing a bold and detailed statement to dismantle white supremacy in America back in June, Ben & Jerry’s quickly earned a reputation of being a valued advocate for change in underserved communities across the U.S. Now they’re taking their actions a step further. In the fight for racial equality, the company has launched a podcast called “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America” — based on Jeffery Robinson’s acclaimed presentation of the same name. They plan to uncover the lesser-known history of racial injustice in America, according to Refinery29 . View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ben & Jerry's (@benandjerrys) According to the captioned Instagram post, the new podcast will be hosted by Carvell Wallace and ACLU legal expert Jeffery Robinson in partnership with Vox Media and The Who We Are Project,...

As we’re approaching nearly week three of public protests against racism and police violence in America, companies are searching for ways they can show their support for the Black community. The racial divide amongst Americans in our institutions is more clear than it’s ever been and people are demanding to know what brands and companies are doing to take action during this time. According to Tech Crunch , these public outcries for change leave out Silicon Valley’s role in how they can help combat systematic racism in the tech industry. Tech Inclusion stated , “the great promise of inclusion in tech is that companies will benefit from a more innovative workforce and the competitive advantages that come with it.” Notorious for their lack of diversity, big-name tech companies are scrambling to offer support beyond donations and public statements. What’s needed is structural change and with the right plan of action, Silicon Valley has the power to help diversify the industry by taking...

A former Moschino USA employee is suing the luxury clothing brand claiming the West Hollywood store discriminated against Black customers. Shamael Lataillade says her supervisor called black customers “Serenas” and instructed employees to follow them in the store if they did not appear “wealthy,” even sometimes documenting license plates, TMZ reports. She also told TMZ that her manager once called the police, accusing a Black customer of stealing. According to TMZ: “Shamael claims the supervisor told employees to tell “Serenas” they were out of stock on many items—and even called cops once to report a suspicious black customer. She says the guy turned out to be a high-profile rapper.” Lataillade, a Black, Haitian-American woman, also claims her supervisor discriminated against her and mocked her as someone who practices “voodoo.” TMZ  also reports Lataillade was let go for speaking out about the racism at her workplace. Moschino USA denies the allegations.